Though the Beaverton-area company hasn't decided just how its pension fund will be organized after Danaher Corp. completes its pending $2.85 billion acquisition of Tektronix, Tek promises its pensions will continue.

"The pension benefit, a retiree shouldn't see any change of that," said Sue Kirby, Tektronix's vice president of human resources. She said a retiree medical plan, which participants fund themselves, won't change either.

Tektronix makes equipment for testing electronics and communications networks. The company's global work force peaked at 24,000 in 1981 before Tek scaled back to focus on its core test and measurement business. It now employs 4,400 worldwide, including 2,000 in Oregon.

Tektronix stopped offering pensions to new employees three years ago, joining many other companies that now emphasize 401(k) investment plans instead. But current employees who started before 2004 still earn pension credits, and Tektronix still oversees a $700 million pension fund for current and former employees.

Tek's financial statements show that the plan is slightly under-funded, indicating obligations are likely to exceed the plan's assets at some point in the future. But Kirby said the company's U.S. plan is fully funded, and that retirees' benefits are secure.

The structure of pension funds can change in several ways after an acquisition, according to pension experts. Tek's fund could be folded in with other plans controlled by Danaher, for example, or could be set up separately.

"In this particular case, I would say that there's probably little risk to the retirees," said Susan Serota, a partner in New York with the executive compensation and benefits practice of the Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman law firm.

Because Danaher's finances are in good shape, she said, and Tek's pension plan is relatively well-funded, pension funds are likely secure.

Government regulators scrutinize corporate buyouts to ensure pension funds are protected, according to Gary Pastorius, spokesman for the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. Should there be anything in the deal that could jeopardize pension benefits, Pastorius said his organization can ask the courts to block it.

"We monitor for M&A (merger and acquisition) transactions," he said, "to look for the possibility of that kind of thing happening."